This essential guide provides practical help and encouragement for those who have not previously studied at a distance and is ideal for students returning to study after a break. This edition is significantly revised and has been updated to include comments from distance learning tutors as well as extracts from student handbooks from distance learning courses. It also covers fundamental issues such as:

Motivation, Goal setting, Time management, Coping strategies, Study skills and Conducting research.
Other features of this new edition are comments and advice from former distance learning students, a comprehensive exploration of developments in e-learning and self-study activities that introduce the crucial element of active learning that is typical of studying at a distance.
Studying at a Distance is a key resource for undergraduates and postgraduates in all open and distance learning or e-learning courses.

The internet is changing the way we live and education has always played an important part in shaping our lives. It is now time for education to capitalise on the Internet’s capabilities to create a new learning environment for tomorrow’s students.
The Online Educator provides much needed straightforward advice on how to create a web-based education system.

This is a survey of 139 virtual students enrolled in undergraduate programs from the faculties of Business
Administration, Information Technology and Social Science and Humanities in Universiti Tun Abdul Razak
(UNITAR). The main objective of the study is to determine the students’ readiness and attitudes towards
online learning. Online learning is a new phenomenon in many institutions of higher learning in Malaysia.
However many universities in the world have capitalized on the tremendous advancement in ICT to enhance
their students learning. With this new technology, UNITAR is able to establish itself as the first virtual
university in the region. It promotes itself with a new learning environment driven by the latest technology
and proposes a more flexible learning, that is, learn from anywhere, anyplace and at your own pace. The
questions asked in the research are: (1) Are the students ready for online learning? (2) What is their attitude
towards online learning? (3) What is their level of computer knowledge on selected computer applications
and its relationship to readiness and attitude towards online learning? (4) What are the relationships
between some selected personal characteristics and readiness and attitude? This research attempts to
answer these questions and forward some recommendations on improving online learning. (Authors' abstract)